EPIC Sues ICE Over Technology Used to Conduct Warrantless Searches of Mobile Devices
EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement for details of the agency's use of mobile forensic technology to conduct warrantless searches of mobile devices. ICE has contracts with a company called Cellebrite for techniques to unlock, decrypt, and extract data from mobile devices, including personal data stored in cloud-based accounts. Privacy complaints regarding the search of mobile devices at the border continue to increase. In a statement to Congress last year, EPIC warned that enhanced surveillance at the border will impact the rights of U.S. citizens. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) have introduced legislation to place restrictions on searches and seizures of electronic devices at the border.